kenlaidlaw

It has been massively difficult to get to the bottom of this referendum business, it is not a straight forward issue, economics isn’t that straight forward, international law takes an unemotional level head to even make the slightest bit of sense of and we have two campaigns that have done there level best to confuse the issues further.  The white paper is worthless and shows a level of care and thought that is quite frankly bordering on criminal.  The No campaign has been totally unable to put across the basic benefits of the UK that we all live in every day.
It is in my opinion, the politicians job to give us the advice we need, the clarity we deserve to make this decision.  They have failed spectacularly.

The heart – Let’s be clear,

I was a no voter form the outset, it would be very difficult for the Yes campaign to change that.  Does that mean there isn’t a small part of me that wonders if it would be worth it, no it doesn’t but I am hugely proud of the UK, what it stands for and what it has done in the past, both the good and the bad.  We are a small united group of nations who have had a massive effect on the world, way beyond the scope we should have been afforded.  We have done that together, not as separate states but as one.  The vast majority of us have a great and free life, those who don’t are protected by the state and while a few slip through the net, it is a UK wide problem and we should aim to help them all.

 The misleading graphic that pushed me over the edge and made me speak out with the graphic showing the whole truth below.

I always believed Scotland could be an independent country and it wasn’t until about 6 months ago I really started getting vocal about this.  I started to read everything I could, but not from the usual places.  Every media story I looked at I double checked with the source of the information, everything that left a politicians lips I assumed was a lie and needed double checked.  I’ve read Schengen, the CTA, years and years of GER’s reports, BASIC, SPICe and another dozen equally mind numbing documents.  I read the white paper, the blue book and the Scotland analysis papers provided by the UK government.  There isn’t much I haven’t read on this subject and what I have begun to realise is that Scotland can and will survive but we will go through 10+ years of turmoil to get there.

At this point I look at my 3 kids who will all leave school during that period and I am worried for them.  I cannot with a clear conscience vote Yes with a family to look after with everything I have read.

The head – Let’s be even clearer

I’ve been pretty up front in my commentary on this when it comes to the economics.  The yes campaign are lying through their teeth with the economics, they present figures that are half the story and designed to present something other than what they actually mean,  It was this side of the campaign that brought me out my shell so to speak.  There is no economic argument in my opinion, none what so ever.  It’s not about the currency, it is not about the resources, it is all about uncertainty and what the history of the GERs reports tell us.  Not the 5 years that the Yes campaign focuses on but all of them.  Not the uncertainty of a half percent increase after a no vote from the Bank of England, the uncertainty of people removing their money from Scottish banks, investors pulling their money, markets dropping, etc.  It is the basic realisation that if we are currently spending more money than we raise, having all the tax raising powers in the world will make no difference. Raising less than we spend will always not be enough.

The lists of experts, businesses and academics that are warning of the dangers of an independent Scotland is overwhelming compared to those who support it.  Foreign companies and governments expressing concerns, international organisations with no axe to grind, they can’t all be wrong.  For me this would be enough to vote no.  But there is so much more.

The arguments – why I am scared

I am not going to go through all the arguments again, several newspapers have done this already this week while making their case and drawing their conclusion to support a no vote.  There are a 1000 articles and blogs all better written than mine that dissect the assumptions being made and get to the truth.  If you haven’t read them and believed them you are not going to believe me, but maybe you can believe yourself.

Nearly every argument the Yes campaign put forward is a distortion of the truth, they have been caught lying on so many counts, they have been exposed for misleading at every turn, there are still some that believe in a secret oil field to the west of the Shetlands.  The fact BP have been drilling it for nearly 10 years seems to pass them by.  You cannot win an argument against a campaign with that thought process.  They disregard facts as scaremongering, they tacitly accept the information they are told without question and turn a blind eye to the behaviour of their supporters.  Journalists can’t ask difficult questions without getting harangued to the point where their union has now officially complained.  It is a fervour that is far from healthy as it is being taken up by clever people who would under normal circumstances question these things.  Anyone who does is branded a traitor to Scotland and a traitor to the cause.

I fully understand the thought process that “I want Scotland to rule itself and will take my chances”  I have several friends of that persuasion and good luck to them if it happens, it is a position I respect and can live with.  The lies and misrepresentation of the facts I cannot.  Those voting for the utopia they have been promised I cannot.  Heaven help the first yes voter to approach me saying “but I never knew”.  How will the Greens reconcile with the Oil plans, Scottish Socialists with Business for Scotland or The Gay and Lesbians for yes with Brian Souter. They can’t all get their dream in an independent Scotland.

Every comment I have made has been to question these assertions and challenge them, they have been made respectfully and after I have done a great deal of reading on the subject.  I even challenge the No campaign when the occasion warrants it.

So while this is a rant I ask you all to look one more time at the facts you believe to be true, look beyond the campaign sites to the actual documents, read just that little bit deeper and take nothing at face value.  Use common sense and logic to challenge the assertions being made, think them through and think beyond the immediate implication of every fact presented and every statement made.  This is the most important vote in your life that will irrevocably change the landscape of the world we live in, make the right choice for you, Yes or No,  but make it informed.

The world will still turn on the 19^th, we may just have to run a little faster to keep up, lets not make it a sprint.